Description:The Mount Vernon Place Historic District is located on the streets and squares surrounding the Washington Monument. It includes not only some of the grand mansions of Baltimore's leading citizens of the period such as the Garrett-Jacobs House and the Thomas-Jencks-Gladding House, but also the Peabody Institute Concert Hall and the Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church. In the area are Belvidere Terrace, a radical change in the concept of rowhouse design, and such architecturally significant buildings as the Maryland Club, the Peabody Dormitory, the First Presbyterian Church, and the Maryland Historical Society which contains an important collection of artifacts including the original manuscript of the "Star Spangled Banner." On the northwest extremity of the District lies Tyson Street, with its humble homes of early-19th century artisans. The original concept of a square in the European form still exists on Mount Vernon Place. The Washington Monument, built between 1815 and 1829, was the first formal monument built in a city in the United States to George Washington. The squares which flank the Monument are landscaped with shrubs, grass, and walks, and are embellished with statues and fountains. There are no setbacks from the building line to destroy the 19th century continuity and symmetry. Surrounding Mount Vernon Place and included in the District are several pleasant groups of row houses which were built in the mid-to-late 19th century as well as a number of important public buildings of the same period.

Significance:
The Mount Vernon Place Historic District, in its broad range of architectural styles, is a reflection of Baltimore's history and life patterns during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Centered around the Washington Monument and its four radiating parks, Mount Vernon Place Historic District is the finest surviving example in Maryland of 19th century urban planning and has served as the focal point of many of Baltimore's most important events in the last 150 years. As a concentration of excellence which has survived the vicissitudes of a changing society and which continues to contribute to the fabric of the City with the presence in the area of such institutions as the Walters Art Gallery, the Peabody Institute, and the Maryland Historical Society, the Mount Vernon Place Historic District has remained alive and is attracting people back to the City from the suburbs.